Spurs Nation

According to an ESPN report out of Cleveland, All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving is requesting a trade from the Cavaliers, with the Spurs mentioned as one of his preferred landing spots.

On the surface, the pairing makes sense.

The Spurs have a glaring void at point guard, with 35-year-old mainstay Tony Parker out for the start of the season while recovering from a torn quadriceps tendon.

Irving, 25, is one of the league’s best at the position. He averaged a career-best 25.2 points with 5.8 assists last season.

Spurs fans are intimately familiar with Irving. He holds the AT&T Center record for opponent scoring with 57 points, notched in the Cavs’ triple-overtime victory in March 2015.

Now a word of caution, before half of San Antonio runs to the ESPN.com trade machine to try out make-believe deals that will never see the light of day.

There is a good chance these Spurs-related fireworks fizzle like the ones that preceded the opening of NBA free agency earlier this month.

The Spurs were expected to make a strong play for All-Star point guard Chris Paul before the L.A. Clippers dealt him to Houston.

They were said to be close to acquiring All-Star forward Paul George before Indiana delivered him to Oklahoma City.

There’s also no guarantee Cleveland acquiesces to Irving’s demand to be traded. The Cavs, after all, have a roster all but ticketed for a third-straight NBA Finals trip out of the Eastern Conference, and should be loath to break that up.

NBA trades might be as easy as a click of a button on online the trade machine. In real life, they are close to impossible to consummate.

Under coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford, the Spurs have not made a trade approaching the magnitude of the one that would be required to snag Irving.

The closest they came to a non-draft day blockbuster was in the summer of 2009, when they sent a collection of bit parts - highlighted by a soon-to-retire Bruce Bowen - to Milwaukee in exchange for Richard Jefferson.

And yet, reports of the Spurs’ myriad backroom discussions leading into the draft and free agency underscore that the team is not afraid of roster-shaking change if it means remaining in the same league as the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

During the draft, the Spurs made forward LaMarcus Aldridge available for trade, but were not able to strike a deal. It would not be surprising to see his name come up again in regards to Irving.

In truth, few pieces on the Spurs roster outside of superstar Kawhi Leonard would be untouchable if it meant attracting a talent such as Irving.

For now, the Spurs will focus on what is, and not what might be.

Barring a blockbuster trade, the impending return of Gasol moves the Spurs roster closer to a finished product.

The 37-year-old Spaniard averaged a career-low 12.4 points last season to go with 7.8 rebounds. He was used in a more limited role than elsewhere in his 16-season career, logging 25.4 minutes per game and coming off the bench for the final stretch of the season.

In his exit interview at the end of last season, Gasol acknowledged his first year in San Antonio was a little bit of a challenge. He also expressed interest in coming back.